Soft Skills and Didactic Pathways in Nigeria University Education: Implication for Graduate Employability

With the advent of the information age in the late decades of the twentieth century, the linkage between academic and occupational education has taken on much greater importance. Graduate employability has been a subject of major concern to government, employers of labour and educational institutions. Many areas of shortfalls have been raised by scholars and employers about graduates’ skill level and ability to successfully gain and retain employment. Prominent among these areas is the gap between the acquired skills of young graduates and required skills in labour market. Yet the types of skills required and the extent to which these skills are embedded in university curriculum contents has not previously been addressed. This paper examines soft skills and didactic methods in Nigerian higher education programmes and the degree to which training strategies on soft skills are embedded in the academic curricula in Nigerian Universities. Detail descriptions/definitions of ‘soft’ and ‘hard skills’ within the context of Nigerian educational system are given. The Nigerian educational policy framework for skill acquisitions and professional development is also examined with a view to ascertaining whether or not there are educational policy problems to tackle or prospects to explore. Conclusions and recommendations are thereafter drawn.